Category: Philadelphia 76ers Blog

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Mar. 30: Cavs 91, Sixers 88

The AP reports: LeBron James made a twisting bank shot with 19.3 seconds left to put Cleveland ahead to stay and the Cavaliers defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 91-88 on Sunday night. James, who finished with 26 points, took the ball at the top of the key, drove through the lane and put Cleveland up 90-88. After a Philadelphia miss, Cleveland forward Joe Smith was fouled and made one free throw. Andre Iguodala, who led the 76ers with 19 points, missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer. Trailing 86-82, Cavaliers guard Delonte West hit two 3-pointers to tie the game at 88 with 1:13 to play. West finished with 18 points. James, who made 4-of-17 shots in Saturday’s loss to Detroit, was 11-of-18 from the field with nine rebounds and nine assists.

Mar. 28: Suns 107, Sixers 93

The AP reports: Amare Stoudemire scored 22 points, Raja Bell had 20 and the Phoenix Suns avoided their first three-game losing skid of the season with a 107-93 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night… Shaquille O’Neal had 15 points and 13 rebounds, Leandro Barbosa scored 17 points and Steve Nash had 10 assists to help the Suns race to a 50-26 lead. Andre Miller had 16 points and 10 assists, Lou Williams scored 15 points and Andre Iguodala had 13 for Philadelphia.

Mar. 26: Sixers 121, Bulls 99

The AP reports: Andre Miller hit all the right targets and had a season-high 18 assists, Lou Williams scored 23 points and Philadelphia romped again, this time in a 121-99 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night… That fast-paced, push the ball for easy baskets style of play helped the Sixers outscore the Bulls 30-2 in fast-break points en route to their 19th victory in their last 24 games… Andre Iguodala scored 21 points and Thaddeus Young had 20… Thabo Sefolosha led the Bulls with 20 points, Kirk Hinrich had 18 and Andres Nocioni 16.

Mar. 24: Sixers 95, Celtics 90

The AP reports: Andre Iguodala scored 10 straight points during a 19-0 run that brought Philadelphia back from a double-digit, fourth-quarter deficit Monday night, and the 76ers beat the Boston Celtics 95-90 to move above .500 for the first time this season. “It shows how hard we’ve worked to get back,” said Iguodala, who finished with 28 points… Andre Miller scored 20, Thaddeus Young had 16 points and nine rebounds, and Samuel Dalembert grabbed 12 boards for Philadelphia. Kevin Garnett scored 18, Leon Powe had 16 and Ray Allen scored 14 for Boston, which lost its second straight after winning 14 out of 15. The Celtics long ago clinched a playoff berth, and they played as if it didn’t matter down the stretch.

Around the league

Teams are averaging 99.6 points through games played March 23. Last year to date, teams were averaging 98.7 points. Teams have averaged triple-digit scoring each of the last five weeks. The last time the league had five straight weeks with an average of at least 100 points was the start of the 1995-1996 season.

Phoenix has won seven straight games, the longest active win streak in the NBA. During that stretch, Phoenix has held its opponents to a combined .423 field goal percentage while shooting .557.

On the season, Philadelphia is averaging 96.5 points on .460 shooting. Over the past 22 games (17-5), however, the Sixers are averaging 102.0 points on .483 shooting from the floor.

Denver is averaging 118.6 points during its last 14 games (9-5), which includes a non-overtime franchise record 168 points vs. Seattle March 16. Denver tallied 663 total points in five games (March 14-)21, the highest point total in five straight games since Chicago scored 668 points over a five-game span in 1990.

Houston’s Rick Adelman has 799 coaching victories. He could record win No. 800 vs. his former team when the Rockets host the Sacramento Kings tonight. Adelman coached the Kings to a franchise-record 359 wins (1998-2006). Adelman (799-513, .614), the sixth-winningest active coach (behind Don Nelson, Pat Riley, Jerry Sloan, Phil Jackson and George Karl) is looking to become only the 13th coach in NBA history to win 800 games.

Adelman, who is on pace for his 10th 50-win season as a head coach, oversees a Rockets roster that contains six players with D-League experience, the second-most D-League-laden roster in the league. The six Rockets with D-League experience are: Rafer Alston, Aaron Brooks, Mike Harris, Chuck Hayes, Steve Novak and Loren Woods. The Miami Heat has eight players with D-League experience.

LeBron James became Cleveland’s all-time leading scorer after netting 29 points in Friday’s 90-83 win over Toronto. James, who now has 10,443 points, surpassed the franchise mark held by Brad Daugherty. Daugherty finished his Cavs career with 10,389 points.

– NBA News

76ers waive Gordan Giricek

InsideHoops.com NewsWire: Philadelphia 76ers President and General Manager Ed Stefanski announced today that the team has waived guard Gordan Giricek. Per team policy, terms of the agreement are not disclosed.

In 12 games with the Sixers, Giricek averaged 3.1 points, 1.2 rebounds and 0.9 assists in 9.2 minutes, while shooting 31.7% (13-47) from the floor.

Several Phoenix-area newspapers had reported in recent days that, should the Sixers buy Giricek out, the Suns would be interested in adding him.

I think if the Suns do add him, his playing time would probably be very limited.

Sixers, Mo Cheeks agree to contract extension

Philadelphia 76ers President and General Manager Ed Stefanski announced today that the team has agreed in principle to a contract extension with Head Coach Maurice Cheeks.  Per team policy, terms of the agreement are not disclosed.

“Since my arrival, I have been evaluating every aspect of the organization and I believe that Coach Cheeks deserves a great deal of credit for developing our players, putting them in a position to succeed and showing improvement every day,” Stefanski said. “Coach Cheeks has done a very good job of installing an up-tempo brand of basketball that puts this team in a position to succeed on a nightly basis and we are excited about the future under his direction.”

Cheeks was named the 21st head coach in franchise history on May 23, 2005 and has posted a 96-122 (.440) mark during that span and has a career record of 258-261 (.497).  Prior to joining Philadelphia, he posted a mark of 162-139 (.538) in three-plus seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers, helping them reaching the playoffs in each of his first two seasons there.  Cheeks spent seven seasons as an assistant coach for the Sixers, working under head coaches John Lucas (1994-96), Johnny Davis (1996-97) and Larry Brown (1997-2001), with whom he helped guide the Sixers to a 56-26 (.683) record and an Eastern Conference title.

Wolves host Sixers Tuesday

Minnesota returns to action tonight after a five-day layoff, battling the red-hot Philadelphia 76ers at Target Center.  Tip off is set for 7 PM.

Philadelphia comes into the Target Center on a five-game winning streak, defeating Washington, Miami, the LA Clippers, Dallas and Memphis in that stretch.   In the two teams’ first meeting back on Dec. 12, 2007 the 76ers got the best of the Wolves, hanging on for a 98-94 victory.  Philadelphia used a strong first-quarter (28-21) and a near triple-double from center Samuel Dalembert to withstand Minnesota’s late charge.  Al Jefferson led the way for the Wolves with 22 points and 11 rebounds.  Sebastian Telfair dished out 11 assists in defeat while Rashad McCants and Antoine Walker added 15 and 14 points respectively off the bench for Minnesota.

The Wolves swept Philadelphia a year ago, and have beaten the Sixers in six of their last 10.  Eleven of the teams’ last 16 meetings have been decided by five points or less.

Minnesota leads the all-time series by a 19-16 count and has won five of six at Target Center, the lone blemish an 86-84 setback on Jan. 22, 2006.

The Sixers come into tonight’s came with a record of 23-30, currently putting them in a tie with New Jersey for the Eastern Conference’s seventh seed.  The Wolves sit at 10-41.

Herbert Hill has left knee surgery, out 8+ weeks

Philadelphia 76ers forward Herbert Hill underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee yesterday afternoon. The procedure was performed by Dr. David Altchek at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan, NY.

The successful surgery revealed a recurrent lateral meniscus tear and scar tissue in the left knee.  Hill will begin a rehabilitation program within 7-10 days and it is expected to last approximately eight weeks.

More information on Hill’s status will be made available as it is received.